Banks and Non-Performing Assets

WHAT exactly constitutes a non-performing asset (NPA) of a bank is not easy to determine. Since banks tend to roll over credit to borrowers, whether the request for such a roll over arises in the normal course of business or owing to a fundamental inability to pay back the loan, is difficult to decide. The tendency of late therefore has been to see NPAs as an extreme case of a wider category called “stressed assets” which are defined according to certain criteria.The problem of NPAs has arisen in a serious form in recent times because of the change in the nature of banking in the country.

Anil Ambani Emerges from the Shadows of Modi’s Rafale “Deal”

MODI’S Rafale “Deal” has raised a number of questions. How is it that the need for 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force, suddenly dropped to only 26 in three years? How is it that the price per aircraft rose from $81 million in 2012, to $243 million in 2015? Or by three times per aircraft, even taking inflation into account. What changed in the intervening three years between the two deals – the UPA’s in 2012 and Modi’s in 2015? And even more curious, who took these decisions and how?

Pay Arrears to Sugarcane Farmers Immediately

AFTER the successful historic rally of farmers on November 20, the All India Sugarcane Farmers Coordination Committee met at Kisan Sabha central office in New Delhi in the evening on November 20, and took stock of the situation of sugarcane farmers in different cane growing states. Representatives of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana participated in the meeting.

AIDWA Demands Action against Vigilante Groups

THE All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), in a statement issued on November 22, has strongly condemned the threats and acts of violence unleashed by right wing vigilante groups like the Rajput Karni Sena which has prevented the release of the film ‘Padmavati’ on the scheduled date. The parallel system of ‘goonda raj’ being perpetrated by such extra constitutional groups has been exacerbated by the felicity with which several constitutionally elected state governments have succumbed to these pressures.

25th Anniversary of Demolition of Babri Masjid

DECEMBER 6 marks the completion of 25 years of the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya. This was a momentous day for India. What was demolished was not just a 16th century mosque, but it was a direct challenge to the Indian Constitution and its secular-republican values.December 6, 1992 can be seen as the milestone from where began the march of the Hindutva forces for political power. 25 years later, those forces are ensconced in the seat of power in Delhi.What were the deceitful moves by the RSS-led forces then? They betrayed a solemn oath given to the Supreme Court that whateve

World Festival of Youth & Students: Carrying Forward the Legacy of Anti-Imperialist Struggle

THE 19th World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS) was held in October in Sochi, Russia. More than 20,000 delegates from more than 150 countries participated in the festival and pledged to continue their relentless struggle to achieve peace, solidarity and social justice, with uncompromising fight against all imperialist tendencies in the present world order.This year's festival was coinciding with the centenary celebrations of the Great October Revolution and it was because of this precise reason that the International Preparatory Committee (IOC) decided to hold the festival in Russia.

TAMIL NADU: A Literary Voice of the Village Falls Silent

MELANMAI Ponnusamy, a doyen among the progressive writers in Tamil Nadu and a Sahitya Akademi awardee, passed away in Chennai on October 30 after a brief illness. He was the founder of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artistes Association (TNPWAA) in the 1970s.Hailing from Melanmarai Nadu of Virudhunagar district, Ponnusamy studied up to Class V and thereafter along with his younger brother Karikalan went to Thanjavur where the duo supplied sweetmeats to shops. After some time, they went back to their native village where they opened a grocery.

COP23 at Bonn – An Assessment

THE 23rd edition of the annual global climate summit, officially known as the Conference of Parties (COP23) concluded at Bonn in the early hours of November 18, several hours past its scheduled conclusion. This delay, as has happened on past occasions too, was the consequence of last minute confrontations between the developing countries and the developed ones. Notwithstanding the hype surrounding the signature and early ratification of the Paris Agreement by 170 countries, the developed countries continue their well-known tactics in relation to the developing world.

Denounce Ordinance Raj

CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on November 23.THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) registers its strong objection to the increasing recourse to the route of ordinance raj that this BJP-led central government has been resorting to.It is reported that an ordinance would be issued to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Act.The winter session of parliament should normally have been sitting at this time. This has been the practice for over half a century.

Comrade Sukomal Sen

CPI(M ) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on November 22THE Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its deep grief at the passing away of Comrade Sukomal Sen, chairman of the Central Control Commission and ex-officio member of the Central Committee. Sukomal Sen died after a long illness. He was aged 83.Sukomal Sen joined the Party in 1952. He was the organiser and builder of the State Government Employees movement in the country. He served as the general secretary of the All India State Government Employees Federation from 1982 to 2008.

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